We’ve all heard of the London Marathon, but have you heard of the Reverse London Marathon?

The idea was inspired by Woking & Sam Beare Hospice physio Andrea Duggan, who completed it last year, and this year the hospice’s Palliative Pacers will take on the challenge.

Last year, the Palliative Pacers - made up of the director of clinical services, the inpatient unit manager, therapists, nurses and admin staff - walked an almighty 100km non-stop over 32 hours in the Thames Path Challenge.

The distance may not be as far this time, but the pace will be quicker as they run or walk through the night, starting at midnight on the official Marathon finish line at The Mall and ending at the start line just before the Marathon runners set off.

“It is truly inspiring to work with such selfless individuals who go above and beyond for our patients and each other,” says Tammy Stracey. “This is what makes the hospice such a special place to work.”

The team have been getting together for early starts at the weekend so that they can complete their practice walks. The Basingstoke Canal has provided the perfect setting for the majority of the walks with greater distances seeing them take on the Thames Path and Windsor Great Park.

They will be proudly wearing their Palliative Pacer T-shirts, so give them a shout of encouragement if you see them passing by!

The Reverse London Marathon is an unofficial, community-led event where runners traverse the standard 26.2-mile TCS London Marathon route backwards in the early hours of the official race day.

At the finish line, our Palliative Pacers team will hand over the baton to hospice chairman Tim Stokes, who will run the official London Marathon later that day.

To support the Palliative Pacers, you can find their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/palliative-pacers